What it is
In Containn payroll is recorded, not calculated. Your payroll firm or payroll system already worked out gross pay, ISR (income tax) withholding, IMSS (Mexican social security) contributions and attendance items; here you enter the period's totals and Containn books them, with their pólizas (journal entries):
| Moment | Póliza |
|---|---|
| Record | Debit to the expense account (gross pay); credit to net pay payable (net) and to withholdings payable (deductions) |
| Pay | Debit to net pay payable; credit to the account the money comes from (net) |
You choose the three accounts every time you record a payroll: Containn hard-codes none of them.
When to use it
Every week, half-month or month, when your payroll firm hands you the payroll summary, and again when you pay it.
Before you start
The base chart of accounts has no payroll accounts. Ask your accountant to add salaries and wages (expense), salaries payable and withholdings payable (liabilities).
Step by step
- Go to Containn → Nómina (payroll) and click Registrar nómina (record payroll).
- Type the Periodo (period) the way you name it (for example, 2026-09-Q2) and choose the Fecha contable (accounting date), which is the póliza date.
- Enter Percepciones (gross pay) and Deducciones (deductions); net pay is calculated for you. For example, 180,000.00 MXN of gross pay and 22,500.00 MXN of deductions give 157,500.00 MXN of net pay to staff.
- Choose the Cuenta de gasto (sueldos y salarios) (salaries expense account) and the Cuenta del neto por pagar (net pay payable account). If there are deductions, Cuenta de retenciones por pagar (withholdings payable account) appears, and it is required.
- Click Registrar (record). The payroll shows as Por pagar (unpaid), with its póliza.
- When you pay it, click Pagar (pay) on its row, choose Fecha del pago (payment date) and ¿De dónde sale el dinero? (where the money comes from), and confirm. It shows as Pagada (paid), with its second póliza.
It does not calculate ISR or IMSS and INFONAVIT (workers' housing fund) contributions, it does not stamp payroll receipts (the payroll CFDI, Mexico's electronic receipt), and it keeps no employee files or attendance records. Nor does it record employer contributions, the state payroll tax or the remittance of withholdings: those go in a manual póliza.
What can go wrong
- “Las deducciones no pueden ser negativas ni mayores que las percepciones” (deductions cannot be negative or exceed gross pay). Check the amounts your payroll firm gave you.
- The date falls in a closed month. The accounting date and the payment date must fall in open months (month close).
- You want to pay only part of it. Payment is for the full net amount; there are no partial payroll payments today.
- The payment does not show up in reconciliation. Bank reconciliation does not suggest payroll payments today: leave that movement pending and do not record it as an expense, or it would be counted twice (banks and reconciliation).
- A payroll recorded wrong. It is not edited: it is cancelled with a reason, and its pólizas stay cancelled and visible. Cancellation is not available on this screen yet: ask support to do it, and check the amounts before recording.